Christian Living
One of my recent blog posts ‘Things that do not satisfy‘, was concluded stating that God wants to take care of us Himself and we can buy without money.
Well, in this blog post, I share how to become a money belt or money bag in God’s Kingdom. And I tell you even I am learning this as I write…
A money bag can mean a bag for holding money, it can mean a very wealthy person or it may often represent a rich extravagant person.
While we want to play down on negative extravagance, being very wealthy or very rich remains an ultimate goal for most people.
One thing I am learning though is that until one’s wealth or riches spills over to others, that person is not truly rich.
I got all so excited as I read through Luke 12:33
“Sell your possessions (show compassion) and give {donations} to the poor. Provide money belts for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing and inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Amplified Bible Version.
How many times did Jesus Christ say to a self-acclaimed rich or righteous persons; ‘go sell all you have and give to the poor”?
We find that in
Question: what is the relationship between giving to the poor and being rich, righteous or honorable?
Three portions of scripture come to the rescue…
“He has given freely to the poor, His righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted in honor.” Psalm 112:9
“If a king faithfully and truthfully judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever.” Proverbs 29:14
“So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “you still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Luke 18:22
We all know how the story of the self-acclaimed rich guy in Luke 18:22-25 ended. Jesus likened the possibility of a rich man entering heaven to the impossible task of attempting to pass a Carmel through the eye of a needle. Why? Is being rich a bad thing? No! But being possessive and defined by one’s wealth is surely destructive. We must learn a good lesson from the rich man of Luke 12:20.
So, who qualifies as ‘poor’?
The simple definition below of ‘poor’ is from the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus;
“lacking money or material possessions“. And synonyms for ‘poor’ include; beggarly, broke, down-and-out, famished, impoverished, needy, penniless, poverty-stricken etc
This definition and list of synonyms sure paints a picture of somebody in our minds as we read through them. And you are right! That person is your ‘poor’.
Isn’t it troubling how we often organize big classy societal occasions or reception, identify our guests before hand with a gate pass or personalized invitation card, not just for security reasons, but to make sure riffraff, beggars, the hungry looking ones do not stray in and embarrass us before our highly esteemed guests.
Well, see what Jesus advised in Luke 14:13;
“But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame and the blind.”
Poor people matter to God and Jesus Christ communicated that much to His followers. In fact, I think (my personal thoughts) that of all kinds of giving mentioned in the New Testament; giving of alms, tithing and offering, giving to those that minister spiritual things to us (local pastors/shepherds) and sharing with one another (giving to other people especially those of the family of God), Jesus Christ seemed to have laid more emphasis on giving to the poor.
Yes, I hear your question: ‘What happens to tithing’? Like I’ve stated before, the tithe is an obligation, and does not count as an offering. You just give your tithe so that God’s work goes on. If a Christian refuses to tithe, then such a person has taken to himself the title of a ‘God-robber’ (Malachi 3).
Permit me to share with you one of my favorite portions of scripture; Matthew 23:23
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
So, Jesus Christ expects us to pay our tithe. In fact, reading Matthew 23:23 over and again, it’s almost as if Jesus Christ took it for granted that the tithe is paid. Tithing wasn’t His focus in that scripture. He already assumed tithes were paid without struggle, hence His emphasis on justice, mercy and faith.
Giving to the poor is an act of mercy and faith. It can become an expression of justice if you reason that you are wealthy or rich so you can help others. So it’s a just and fair thing for a comfortable-you to give to the poor around you.
See what Apostle Paul says to us in 2 Corinthians 9:9, quoting Psalm 112:9 which we read earlier;
“As it is written and forever remains written, “He {the benevolent and generous person} SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER“. Amplified Bible Version.
I meet some Christians who have started feeling like their receiving is not quite commensurate with their giving. They say they are faithful tithers, they give to their men of God and other ‘powerful’ men of God, they give all sorts of offerings to the church etc etc…
Great! But maybe like Jesus Christ said to that rich man, …….you still lack one thing……..’Give to the poor around you’ and do not stop scattering your seed abroad. For surely, you’ll become a money bag/belt, you will abound and have abundance for every good work, you will have great indestructible treasures in heaven, and your righteousness will endure forever.
Don’t tell me now that you are poor and have nothing to give. Find someone poorer than you are, give, and walk yourself out of poverty.
Praise God forever!
Like Jesus said, the poor will never cease from the land. There will always be poor people whether by choice or through ignorance. Christ expects us to give to them.
